What is the Kanji for "Laugh"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Laugh", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Laugh" is "笑".

This kanji has 3 readings:

Its kunyomi readings are "E" and "Wara".

Its onyomi reading is "Shou".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The radical "⺮" means "Bamboo" . And The radical "禾" means "Cereal" .

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "笑" mean in japanese?

"笑" means "Laugh".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Fourth Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N3 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

笑う: "Laugh". The Japanese verb '笑う (わらう)' means 'to laugh'. This verb is used to express the action of laughing, either out of amusement, joy, or in response to something humorous. It can be used to describe both a person's physical action of laughing, as well as an emotion of amusement. For example: He laughed loudly - (彼は大きく笑った). She laughed at the joke - (彼女はジョークに笑った).

可笑しい: "Funny". The Japanese adjective '可笑しい (おかしい)' means 'funny'. This adjective is used to describe something that is amusing, comical, or ludicrous. It can be applied to a wide range of things, from jokes and situations to people's behaviors or appearances. For example: That joke is so funny - (あの冗談は本当に可笑しい). Her reaction was quite funny - (彼女の反応はとても可笑しかった).

笑い: "Laughter". The Japanese noun '笑い (わらい)' means 'laughter'. It refers to the sound and expression of joy, amusement, or mirth. It can be used to describe the act of laughing or the sound that is produced. For example: Her laughter filled the room - (彼女の笑いが部屋に響いた). Loud laughter - (大きな笑い)

笑顔: "Smile". The Japanese noun '笑顔 (えがお)' means 'smile'. This word refers to the facial expression indicating happiness, pleasure or amusement. It is often associated with positive emotions and can be used to describe someone's friendly, cheerful demeanor. For example: Her smile lit up the room - (彼女の笑顔が部屋を照らした). She has a beautiful smile - (彼女はきれいな笑顔を持っている).

微笑む: "Smile". The Japanese verb '微笑む (ほほえむ)' means 'to smile'. This verb is used to express a gentle, pleasant expression on one's face. It can be used to describe a person's facial expression or to indicate a feeling of happiness or contentment. For example: She smiled at me - (彼女は私にほほえんだ). He smiled softly - (彼はやさしくほほえんだ).

笑み: "Smile". The Japanese noun '笑み (えみ)' refers to a gentle, pleasant expression on one's face that indicates happiness, contentment, or amusement. It is a more subtle and refined term for 'smile' compared to the more common word '笑顔 (えがお)'. '笑み' is often used in a more poetic or literary context. For example: Her smile was beautiful - (彼女の笑みはきれいでした). He greeted me with a warm smile - (彼は温かい笑みでわたしを迎えた).

苦笑: "Wry smile". The noun '苦笑 (くしょう)' refers to a wry or forced smile, often expressed in awkward or uncomfortable situations. It conveys a sense of reluctance, embarrassment or displeasure. For example: He gave a wry smile when he heard the news - (彼はその知らせを聞いて苦笑した). She let out a wry smile as she realized her mistake - (彼女は自分の間違いに気づいて苦笑した).

微笑: "Smile". The noun '微笑 (びしょう)' means 'smile'. This word refers to a slight, gentle expression of pleasure, amusement, or agreement on a person's face. It is a more refined and subtle expression compared to a broad grin. For example: A faint smile appeared on her lips - (彼女の唇に微笑がうかんだ). He gave me a friendly smile - (彼は私に優しい微笑をみせた).

可笑しな: "Strange" or "Funny". The Japanese determiner '可笑しな (おかしな)' can mean either 'strange' or 'funny'. It is used to describe something that is unusual, odd, or amusing. For example: That's a strange idea - (それは可笑しな考えだ). That joke is so funny - (あの冗談は可笑しい).

笑い声: "Laughter". The Japanese noun '笑い声 (わらいごえ)' refers to the sound of laughter. It can describe the vocal expression of amusement, joy or happiness. This word is commonly used to describe the audible laughter of one or more people. For example: The sound of laughter filled the room - (部屋は笑い声で満たされた). I could hear the laughter of children outside - (外から子供たちの笑い声が聞こえた)

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "し" is read as "shi". The hiragana "う" is read as "u". The hiragana "え" is read as "e". The hiragana "わ" is read as "wa". And The hiragana "ら" is read as "ra".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.